Eastern Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Eastern Bank trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,445 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,631 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $45,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $147.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $164.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 144,252 shares of company stock valued at $26,947,635 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, New Street Research decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.